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Show NOVELS.- Whether it is right or wrong to read novels, people will do it. And as a rule, three-quarters of the novels are read by people who ought to read books which give useful information, and three-quarters of the books of solid information are read by people who might derive benefit from reading a good novel now and then. The trouble with novel-reading comes chiefly from the bad or indifferent quality of the novels which are read, which are worthless, if not worse. It comes also, in large part, from the fact that fiction constitutes almost the only reading of a great and increasing class of persons who need actual knowledge and discipline of mind, and the more novels they read, the less they are inclined to read anything else. Parents and teachers may try in vain to prevent the reading of novels, but they can and should cultivate a taste for reading other and more useful works, from which real and lasting benefit can be derived. |